George Strait Named Musician of the Year in Home State of Texas

George Strait has been awarded one of the Lone Star State’s biggest honors: the official musician of the year. The artist was named Texas' State Musician of 2017, a title which has been bestowed on iconic artists like ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.

The honor is given out every two years and is determined based first on public nomination, then voted on via committee through the Texas Commission on the Arts.

“It's a great honor for me to be selected as Texas State Musician of 2017 and join this very prestigious list of other honorees,” Strait says in a release. “I'm a very proud Texan and love to sing the praises of our great state every chance I get. Thank you very, very much.”

Strait has certainly infused the spirit of Texas into his music over his decades-long career, including songs like “All My Ex's Live in Texas,” “Amarillo by Morning,” “Somewhere Down in Texas,” “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind,” “Lone Star Blues” and more.

Strait has earned several unique lifetime honors throughout his career, including being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and having had 33 albums go platinum or multi-platinum, earning 60 no. 1 singles. He’s gearing up for another string of shows in Las Vegas, titled 2 Nights of No. 1s, taking place July 28-29, Sept. 1-2 and Dec. 8-9.